Tight Games The Order of the Day For CEC vs Hermantown

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Sept 4, 2012

Kerry Rodd-NSO

The final scoreboard showed a 5-2 victory for the Hermantown girls tennis team over Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, but the real story was just how tight the individual games were between these longtime rivals.

A perfect example of how close the games were was at #1 singles where Hermantown’s Madelyn Miller narrowly slipped by Reilly Kedrowski 2-6, 7-6 (9-7) and 7-6.

“As hot as it was muggy, the action on the courts was equally hot and buzzing with energy,” explained Hermantown coach Kelly Cook. “3 of the 7 matches went to full 3rd sets and 2 more went to 2nd set tie breaks and could have gone either way.” The win was the first of the season for First Year Head Coach Cooke.

The Hawks also picked up wins at #2 singles by Danielle Luke and at #3 singles by Bailey O’Connell. Luke beat Breanne Baker of CEC and Luke got by Lora Chalich. CEC lone win in singles came from Rosalie Lundquist at #4 where she beat Hermantown’s Stephanie Collins 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).

“There were lots of well struck balls and long rallies,” mentioned Cook. “Some volleys went 3-4 shots even. In the end it was a test of endurance as teams started to tighten up.”

The Hawks also picked up wins at #1 and #2 doubles to solidify their victory. At #1 it was Anna Vandeelen and Mariah Ruhanen downing CEC’s Alyssa Acheson and Katrina Smith 3-6, 6-4 and 6-3. At #2 doubles it was Elizabeth Carlson and Brianna Garcia-Meyers knocking of CEC’s Katelyn Litke and Arica Sheff 6-2, 6-3. The Lumberjacks managed to take a win at #3 doubles when Abby Wangen and Courtney Ketola defeated Elizabeth Heehn and Jordan Cuva 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

These two teams will get a chance to meet again with the next match set for October 1st in Cloquet.

Kerry Rodd can be reached at kerry@northlandsportsonline.com